Ruling out aliens? Senior U.S. general says not ruling out anything yet

A cluster of young stars resembles an aerial burst, surrounded by clouds of interstellar gas and dust, in a nebula NGC 3603 located in the constellation Carina, in this image captured in August 2009 and December 2009. NASA/ESA/R. O'Connell/F. Paresce/E. Young/Ames Research Center/WFC3 Science Oversight Committee/Hubble Heritage Team/STScI/AURA/Handout via REUTERS

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Air Force general overseeing North American airspace said on Sunday after a series of shoot-downs of unidentified objects that he would not rule out aliens or any other explanation yet, deferring to U.S. intelligence experts.

Asked whether he had ruled out an extraterrestrial origin for three airborne objects shot down by U.S. warplanes in as many days, General Glen VanHerck said: "I'll let the intel community and the counterintelligence community figure that out. I haven't ruled out anything."